Carton for fragile objects

ABSTRACT

An article-revealing carton for fragile objects, particularly eggs, consisting of a container section and a cover section hinged thereto, said container section having a plurality of article-receiving compartments arranged in at least two parallel rows and upwardly extending projections located between said rows of compartments, said cover section having at least two upwardly projecting gable portions extending parallel with the rows of compartments and between two neighbouring gable portions a recessed roof portion interconnecting the lowermost edges of opposed sides of the neighbouring gable portions and moreover there is provided a number of apertures corresponding to the compartments in the container section, said apertures being formed in the recessed roof portion and in the sides of the gable portions adjoining thereto and being arranged so as to coincide with the respective compartments in the container section when the carton is closed, and wherein the recessed roof portion has a downwardly projecting rib extending in the longitudinal direction of the roof portion and being shaped as a groove with at least one denesting projection provided therein, the rib and the projections of the container section being so formed and arranged relative to each other that the rib rests on the top of the projections when the carton is closed.

United States Patent 1191 Moller I I l I 1 Feb.5, 1974 CARTON FOR F RAGILE OBJECTS {75] Inventor: Bent Moller, Lyngby, Denmark [73] Assignee: Aktieselskabet Brodrene Hartmann, Lyngby, Denmark [22] Filed: Nov. 2, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 303,200

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 17, 1971 Denmark 5650/71 [52] US. Cl. 229/29 M, 229/2.5 [51] Int. Cl B65d 85/32 [58] Field of Search..- 229/29 M, 2.5, 44, 45

[56] References Cited I UNITED-STATES PATENTS 3,327,918 6/1967 White 229/29 M x 3,362,605 1/1968 Bixler 229/2.5 3,458,108 7/1969 Howarth et al. 229/2.5 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,175,145 7/1964 Germany 1. 229/29 M Primary ExaminerDavis TIMoorehead Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Penhie & Edmonds I 5 7 ABSTRACT An article-revealing carton for fragile objects, particularly eggs, consisting of a container section and a cover section hinged thereto, said container section having a plurality of article-receiving compartments arranged in at least two parallel rows and upwardly extending projections located between said rows of compartments, said cover section having at least two upwardly projecting gable portions extending parallel with the rows of compartments and between two neighbouring gable portions a recessed roof portion interconnecting the lowermost edges of opposed sides of the neighbouring gable portions and moreover there is provided a number of apertures corresponding to the compartments in the container section, said apertures being formed in the recessed roof portion and in the sides of the gable portions adjoining thereto and being arranged so as to coincide with the respective compartments in the container section when the carton is closed, and wherein the recessed roof portion has a downwardly projecting rib extending in the. longitudinal direction of the roof portion and being shaped as a groove with at least one denesting projection provided therein, the rib and the projections of the container section being so formed and arranged relative to each other that the rib rests on the top of the projections when the carton is closed.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures I PATENTED B 4 SHEEI 3 OF 4 PAFENTEB FEB 51974 SHEET U BF 4 1 a CARTON FOR FRAGILE OBJECTS The invention relates to an article-revealing carton for fragile objects, particularly eggs, consisting of a container section and a cover section hinged thereto, said container section having aplurality of articlereceiving compartments arranged in at least two paral- ,lel rows and upwardly extending projections located between said rows of compartments, said cover section having at least two upwardly projecting gable portions extending parallel with the rows of compartments, and between two neighbouring gable portions a recessed roof portion interconnecting the lowermost edges of the opposed sides of said gable portions, and moreover there is provided a number of apertures corresponding to the compartments in the container section, said apertures being formed in the recessed roof portion and the sides of the gable portions adjoining thereto and beingarranged so as to coincide with the respective compartments in the container section, when the carton is closed. I

When the carton is closed the gable portions are located above the rows of compartments, and a predetermined portion of the objects isvisible through the apertures, and said object portions can be held in position and bounded by the edges of the apertures, the carton being so dimensioned that the tops of the gable portions of the closed carton are located higher, and the roof portion lower than the top portions of theobjects in the carton, and that the gable portions are narrower than the said top portions.

The invention is characteristic in that the recessed roof portion has a downwardly projecting rib extending in the longitudinal direction of'the roof portion, said rib being shaped asa groove with at least one denesting projection provided therein, the rib and the projections of the container section being so formed and arranged relative to each other that the rib rests on the top of the projections, when the carton is closed.

By meansof the rib the cover section of the closed carton is supported in the area of the roof portion,- which normally is the central part of the cover section by the projections extending upwardly from the container section. By shaping the rib as a groove with at least one denesting projection therein no denesting problems will arise from the groove-shaped rib, be-

cause when two cartons in open condition are nested into each other the denesting projection of an open carton prevents the rib of an overlying open carton from entering into the groove-shaped rib of the preceding carton, which might impede the denesting of the carbons. 1

According to the invention the denesting projection may be a solid transverse rib in the groove. According to the invention a particularly advantageous embodiment is provided by means of two transverse ribs, each flush with one of the two cover section end walls extending transversely of the gable portions, denesting difficulties in the area of the end walls thus being avoided.

According to the invention the groove may have a recessed portion within the transverse ribs flush with the end walls, and the transverse ribs may extend into said recessed portion. This means that in the area of the recessed portion the underside of the groove-shaped rib. extending in the longitudinal direction of the roof portion is provided with a correspondingly downwardly -2 projecting section, and as seen in the vertical direction the transverse denesting rib has a corresponding downward elongation. Consequently, when two cover sections are nested they will be held apart a distance corresponding to the said increased height of the transverse rib.

Since both the container section projections which naturally will be rather high. and the groove-shaped rib of the cover section may cause problems when a number of open cartons which have been nested e.g. for the purpose of transport, are to be denested, according to the invention denesting members may also be provided on the oblique end walls extending transversely of the rows of compartments of the container section and transversely of the cover section, said denesting members being rib-shaped projections with L- shaped cross-section, the upwardly protruding part of the L extending more steeply that the wall portions and preferably substantially vertically and forming at its free end edge a resting surface for the substantially horizontal bottom part of corresponding denesting projections on another carton nested in the carton in question. ln this way two nested cartons are held apart a distance corresponding'to the height of the upwardly extending part of the L. 4

. The invention will now be explained reference being had to the drawing,

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an embodiment ofan egg carton according to the invention in closed condition and seen from one end of the carton,

in more detail,

FIG. 2 is a similar view of said carton seen from above, part of the carton cover having been removed, FIG. 3 shows on an increased scale a cross section on line -IlI-'-III in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows schematically a longitudinal section through a segment A in FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 shows schematically and on an increased scale a longitudinal section through a segment B in FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a section through the same on line VI-Vl in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 7 shows schematically and on an increased scale a longitudinal section through the end walls of the nested open cartons, the walls being provided with denesting members. I

,The shown carton consists of a container section 1 and a cover section 2. The two sections are interconnected by means of a hinge 3.'The carton is designed as a packing'for eggs.

The container section 1 has two parallel rows of eggreceiving compartments 4, in the shown embodiment each row numbering five compartments 4. Between the compartments which are arranged in rows beside each other, upwardly extending hollow projections 5 are provided, which define the compartments and also serve as supports for the cover section 2 when the carton is closed. 7

The cover section 2 has two parallel upwardly extending gable portion 6 parallel with the rows of compartments and when the carton is closed extending above the rows of compartments, vide FIG. 3. A recessed roof portion 7 is located between the gable portions and interconnects the lowermost edges of opposed sides 6a of the gable portions. The roof portion 7 has a downwardly protruding rib 8 extending throughout the length of the roof portion 7 and having a cross sectional shape in the form of a groove as indicated by the numeral 9. The numeral 10 designates a number of article-revealing apertures for the eggs. These apertures are formed partly in the sides 6a of the gable portions and partly in the roof portion 7. The number of apertures corresponds to the number of compartments 4 and are arranged so as to coincide with the compartments 4, when the carton is closed. Thus, in the present embodiment there are five apertures 10 in each gable portion 6.

Furthermore it will be seen, especially in FIG. 3, that the carton is so dimensioned that in the closed carton the tops of the gable portions 6 will be located higher and the roof portion 7 lower than the top portions of the eggs in the carton, shown in dotand dash lines, and also that the gable portions 6 are narrower than the said egg portions.

Consequently when the carton is closed a portion 11 of the eggs 12 is visible in the apertures 10 and can project through the apertures, even so far as to contact the edges of the apertures, the eggs thus being held in their positions. Furthermore the rib 8 and the projections 5 are so formed and located that the rib rests on the tops of the projections 5, the roof portion 7 thus being supported by the projections 5.

FIG. 1 together with FIG. 3 show that the end wall 13 of the container section 1 extends across the space between the compartments 4 located at the end of the rows of compartments of the container section.

Close to their free edges the obliquely extending end walls of the container section 1 and of the cover section 2 are provided with denesting members in the form of rib-shaped denesting projections 14 protruding outwardly from the side walls and extending transversely of the rows of compartments and of the rib 8 of the cover section. The projections 14 have L-shaped cross section and consist of an upwardly protruding'part 14a and a horizontal bottom part 14b. The upwardly protruding part 14a extends more steeply than the wall portions and preferably substantially vertically, FIG. 4, and at its free end edge 14c it forms a resting surface for the substantially horizontal bottom part 14b of a corresponding denesting projection 14 of another carton resting on the' carton in question. FIG. 7 shows parts of two open cartons provided with denesting projections 14 after nesting, and it appears from the Figure that by means of the denesting projections 14 the cartons are held apart a distance corresponding to the height of the upwardly protruding part of'the L.

The drawing shows two different embodiments of the invention, one within the area designated A and the other within the area designated B in FIG. 2. It is a common feature of both embodiments that in the groove 9 defined by the rib 8 there are provided denesting projections 16, (area A) and 15 (area B) in the form of solid transverse ribs. There are two transverse ribs 15, each rib flush with one of the two cover section end walls extending transversely of the gable portions 6. Within the transverse ribs 15 the groove 9 has a recessed portion 9a, see FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, so that the underside of the rib 8 is provided with a correspondingly projecting section 8a. The transverse rib 15 extends to the bottom of the recessed portion 9a, and as in the shown embodiment the height of the recessed portion 9a is twice that of the groove 9, the height of the transverse rib 15 is twice that of the rib 8. Consequently, when a number of open cartons are nested, they are by means of the transverse ribs 15 held apart a distance corresponding to twice the height of the ribs 8. In the shown embodiment the cartons are at the same time supported relative to each other by means of the denesting projections 14 which have a corresponding height and location and also support the cartons individually from turning relative to each other in the plane of the end walls. Besides, the construction permits the transverse ribs 15 to be formed without difficulty as solid elements by sucking fibre pulp onto a suction mould.

Only one transverse rib 16 has been shown as a further embodiment of the invention, and this embodiment may be chosen if a smaller denesting distance suffices between the cartons. As shown in FIG. 4 the height of the transverse rib 16 is smaller than the height of the transverse rib 15, as it only fills the groove 9 and consequently has a height corresponding thereto. This means that when open cartons have been nested the top .of the rib 8 of a carton will be level with the top plane of the groove 9 of the preceding carton, whereas in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the top of the ribs 8 is removed from said top plane by one groove depth. In connection with the transverse ribs 16 the shape and location of the denesting projections 14, if any, are chosen correspondingly lower.

Furthermore, at one of its long sides the container section 1 is provided with a flap 17 hinged to the said section, the flap carrying solid locking projections 18 which when, the carton is closed engage corresponding locking apertures 19 in the corresponding side wall of the cover section 2, as the flap 17 will then abut against the inner side of said side wall, FIG. 3.

I claim: 1. An article-revealing carton for fragile objects, particularly eggs, consisting of a container section and a cover section hinged thereto, said container section having a plurality of article-receiving compartments arranged in at least two parallel rows and upwardly extending projections located between said rows of compartments, said cover section having at least two upwardly projecting gable portions extending parallel with the rows of compartments and between two neighbouring gable portions a recessed roof portion interconnecting the lowermost edges Of opposed sides of the neighbouring gable portions, and moreover there is provided a number of apertures corresponding to the compartments in the container section, said apertures being formed in the recessed roof portion and in the sides of the gable portions adjoining therero and being arranged so as to coincide with the respective compart ments in the container section when the carton is closed, characterized in that the recessed roof portion has a downwardly projecting rib extending in the longitudinal direction of the roof portion and being shaped as a groove with at least one denesting projection provided therein, and in that the rib and the projections of the container section are so formed and arranged relative to each other that the rib rests on the top of the projections when the carton is closed.

2. An article-revealing carton according to claim 1, characterized in that the denesting projection is a solid transverse rib in the groove.

3. An article revealing carton according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that either of two transverse ribs is flush with either of the two cover section end walls extending transversely of the gable portions.

4. An article-revealing carton according to claim 3, characterized in that the groove has a recessed portion within each transverse rib and that the transverse ribs extend down into the said recessed portion.

5. An article-revealing carton according to claim 1, characterized by denesting members provided on the oblique end walls extending vtransversely of the rows of compartments of the container section and transversely of the gable portions of the cover section, said denesting members being in the form of rib-shaped projecthe carton in question. 

1. An article-revealing carton for fragile objects, particularly eggs, consisting of a container section and a cover section hinged thereto, said container section having a plurality of article-receiving compartments arranged in at least two parallel rows and upwardly extending projections located between said rows of compartments, said cover section having at least two upwardly projecting gable portions extending parallel with the rows of compartments and between two neighbouring gable portions a recessed roof portion interconnecting the lowermost edges of opposed sides of the neighbouring gable portions, and moreover there is provided a number of apertures corresponding to the compartments in the container section, said apertures being formed in the recessed roof portion and in the sides of the gable portions adjoining therero and being arranged so as to coincide with the respective compartments in the container section when the carton is closed, characterized in that the recessed roof portion has a downwardly projecting rib extending in the longitudinal direction of the roof portion and being shaped as a groove with at least one denesting projection provided therein, and in that the rib and the projections of the container section are so formed and arranged relative to each other that the rib rests on the top of the projections when the carton is closed.
 2. An article-revealing carton according to claim 1, characterized in that the denesting projection is a solid transverse rib in the groove.
 3. An article revealing carton according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that either of two transverse ribs is flush with either of the two cover section end walls extending transversely of the gable portions.
 4. An article-revealing carton according to claim 3, characterized in that the groove has a recessed portion within each transverse rib and that the transverse ribs extend down into the said recessed portion.
 5. An article-revealing carton according to claim 1, characterized by denesting members provided on the oblique end walls extending transversely of the rows of compartments of the container section and transversely of the gable portions of the cover section, said denesting members being in the form of rib-shaped projections with L-shapEd cross section, the upwardly protruding part of the L extending more steeply than the wall portions and preferably substantially vertically and forming at its free end edge a resting surface for the substantially horizontal bottom part of corresponding denesting projections of another open carton nested in the carton in question. 